Honest Opinions About .223 and 22-250

7.62mm

7.62mm

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If one were just starting out in varmint hunting, which of these two calibres would you choose? Taking into account the availability of factory ammo, or if the shooter wanted to get into reloading, which would be the most user friendly and most economical choice.

thanks in advance for your input

7.62mm

P.S. I know, I should have started a poll.
 
I feel the .223

would be the way to go. I have never owned one but would probably buy one over the 22-250 next time.

Why?

Less powder consumption than the 22-250. Thus barrel would be accurate for a longer period of time B4 it dropped off.

Brass life would definately be longer. I find that because of the shape of the 22-250 case there is more brass flow than the straighter 223 case. It required after about 5 firings constant shoulder setback everytime the case was sized. I could not just do the necks the shoulders had to be bumped. My loads were not on the hot side either. I kept them at a fairly conservative velocity.

Recoil is less, not that the 22-250 is heavy in the recoil department.

223 has a great availability of cheap off the shelf ammo.

A few drawbacks depending what you are going for after in the varmints department the 22-250 has more punch out to further distances than the 223 on coyote sized game.

The 22-250 would handle the heavier bullets better if it were in a twist configuration that were able to stabilize the heavier bullets due to more powder capacity.

Just some of my thoughts.
 
If you are going to do your own reloading I would take the 22-250. It is a more flexible round.
If you want .223 level of recoil for a given application you can load it light. If you want more zip you can load it hot.
.223 ammo is cheaper, but 22-250 isn't that hard to find, especially if you are going to reload the ammo price difference is even less. Yes the 22-250 will use more powder, BUT seriously, with relatively low volume shooting (any hunting rifled compared to skeet/trap shooting), the amount of powder that you go through is minimal. Is there a difference?? Yes. Does it matter, likely not.
Either way you are not going to go wrong, each has a niche. If you are a reloader or plan to reload, 22-250 hands down, if you are shooting factory ammo think about the actual amount of shooting that you are going to do in a year, and look at the difference in ammo prices. The .223 might be the best choice for you.
 
I prefer the 223 simply because most 22-250 barrels are rifled 1-14, which won't stabilize heavier bullets as well.

I find that odd, given that with the powder capacity, I think the 22-250 would shine with 65-75 grain pills.
 
Either if you don't handload. Lotsa cheap crappy factory ammo for each. If you DO handload (which you should) then the 22-250 is more versatile, unless you have a fast-twist 223 (most varmint 223's aren't).

Really, you should get both. They're different enough that you can justify having both if you're an avid varminter
 
I've shot both but own a couple of .223 bolts. Just can't justify a .22-250 right now, but maybe down the road. The .223 is a lot of fun, though!
 
The only thing that prevents me from getting into a 22-250 is that approaching 4000 fps speeds means you will possibly get more throat errosion and less barrel life than a .223 with speeds around 3200 fps.

With a faster barrel twist rate, the .223 should handle the bigger pills well.
 
Question is 'what kind of varmints'... 4 squirrels and such, 223 is already considerable overkill and good to any distance your eyesight / scope and rifle is capable of if you know how to shoot and have decent equipment. 22-250 is always gonna have its fans, but I don't think its what you want. Maybe as a second or third varminter... but not for a newby. Money, noise, barrel life, etc taken into account. (Remember the army considers 223 good enough for the big critters at distances probably in excess of what you will be shooting little critters at.) Don't believe half of the big claims you read in gun rags or on the net. Most varmints are taken WELL under 300yrds.

Honestly though, I think .204 beats them both for little stuff... and it does it with more speed, less powder and heat.
.204ruger Its all that- and a bag of... greasy grimy gopher guts.
 
harv3589 said:
What about the 204 as a coyote gun then vs. the 22-250?
Click to expand...

I have no experience with shooting the 'yotes. I have them on my land and see them from time to time, but they eat squirrels and I keep them around for that reason. They've never messed with calves and such, so I don't mess with them. I never take the squirrel population that low. Me likes the 'yotes!

What I can say is read this:
http://www.204ruger.com/204_overview.php
 
If you're going to be doing a lot of shooting, then .223 is the way to go. Cheap and plentiful brass help to make it so. It's an easy caliber to reload for and has more than enough energy to take coyotes with.

But... if you want the extra velocity, the 22-250 is noticably faster. I have a wonderful memory of watching a magpie explode just as my trigger arrived at the end of its travel in my old Remingtom 700 BDL varmint rifle :) For sheer speed, I would say that a 22-250 is a gem.

That's why you should have one of each :cool:
 
I have a savage 12 in .223. I have shot it alot and its not a bad gun. I just don't like the plastic stock. Gun show came to town and I bought a winchester 70 in 220 swift. It came with a HS stock and action is alot smoother.I have only had time to take it to the indoor range but I can cover 5 shots with the head of a 220 cart. I have never done that at the same range with my .223.
 
7.62mm said:
Taking into account the availability of factory ammo, or if the shooter wanted to get into reloading, which would be the most user friendly and most economical choice.
Click to expand...
Based on your Criteria listed above the 223 Clearly outshines the 22-250.
It is for the reasons you mentioned that I went 223 as well:cool:
 
I have a Savage 12BVSS in 223. Out to 300M with 45gr Win whitebox it is deadly 2" groups. I have tried it up to 600M with 75gr handloads and it shoots like a house on fire. Any of the military calibers are made to last.

Brian
 
.204 will give you a lot better barrell life than a 22-250. But, who cares? Buy one of each, blow away some varmints, and move on to something new. Otherwise, just stick to your .22lr,12ga, and 30-06, no one needs more guns than that....right? lol (that's why we all have "gun rooms" not gun cabinets)
 
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